Work Day 4: "Feeding of the Four Thousand" by Doug Collins of Albany FCC

Day four of work at in Cachimuel was full of joy and laughter.  “Corazon” the clown (IE Christy Know of Silverton [I didn’t tell you that]) paid a visit to the children and handed out stickers, photos and balloon animals made by our group the night before.  Duane then handed out balsa wood plane gliders, which the children enjoyed very much.  Workwise, we completed many projects including a beautiful mural of a nearby volcano with local elements including corn, dogs, pigs, a donkey, houses, and children designed by Carol Cure, finishing the final coats of the yellow and brown interior and exterior walls, and lots and lots of clean up.  We are tired this evening from laughing about the many jokes that arose over our lunch as most of us tried ostrich meat for the first time!  We look forward to a special program and dinner being put on by the people of Cachimuel and a special visit by some government officials who wish to help us dedicate this newly refurbished day care center.

Tonight was my evening for devotion and no scripture seemed more fitting than the feeding of the four thousand found in Mark 8:1-9 Contemporary English Version (CEV);

“1One day another large crowd gathered around Jesus. They had not brought along anything to eat. So Jesus called his disciples together and said, 2"I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don't have anything to eat. 3Some of them live a long way from here. If I send them away hungry, they might faint on their way home." 4The disciples said, "This place is like a desert. Where can we find enough food to feed such a crowd?" 5Jesus asked them how much food they had. They replied, "Seven small loaves of bread."] 6After Jesus told the crowd to sit down, he took the seven loaves and blessed them. He then broke the loaves and handed them to his disciples, who passed them out to the crowd. 7They also had a few little fish, and after Jesus had blessed these, he told the disciples to pass them around.”

Today we have felt, given, received and rejoiced in the many blessings, which are abundant in this place.  We have given thanks to God for the opportunity to get to know each other as a greater regional church – even greater, an international language of God which transcends grammar and sentence structure, whether it be English, Ketchua or Spanish.

Praise be to the Artist, who weaves us together,

Deeper and deeper into the same quilt,

Ever-growing and ever-warming all who seek God’s warmth

With no boundaries, beyond comprehensibility.

Amen.

For more on this particular devotion, visit http://www.weekofcompassion.org/mission-trip-devotions/ and scroll down to the Wednesday entry.